Iron ore prices in China have dropped sharply today, Friday, October 23, as higher arrivals at ports have increased worries of oversupply, while demand has eased after the hike earlier this week.
Iron ore fines with 62 percent Fe have lost $4.2/mt today to $115.5/mt CFR. Ex-Brazil fines with 65 percent Fe content have declined on the same day by $2.4/mt to $131/mt CFR.
Demand has been limited on Friday. Only one deal has been heard at trading platforms, for 170,000 mt of Brazilian blended fines with 62 percent Fe and low alumina content at $115.7/mt CFR.
On October 19, inventory of iron ore at 33 major Chinese ports amounted to 106.29 million mt, up 2.12 million mt or 2.04 percent compared to October 14, as announced by China's Xinhua News Agency. This followed the rise by 3.65 percent in the previous week. And according to sources, the supply volumes have continued to grow gradually over the past few days, worsening the market sentiment.
Iron ore futures prices at Dalian Commodity Exchange have dropped by 3.1 percent or RMB 25/mt ($3.7/mt) to RMB 771.5/mt.